The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › Injuries, Restrictions, Ailments, Pose Modifications › Knees, legs and ankles › soft knee cap
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Hello,
I would love to do hot yoga. I only have a concern as I have soft kneecap in both knees. They are becoming soft when I do workout like aerobics. I don’t run, never was. I used to train synchronised swimming for 15 years, so mostly water and some gym and aerobics.
I was diagnosed about 3 years ago, so I dont do any aerobics, anything, I just swim. The knees are fine, unless I do aerobics, then thy become soft and I stop and then its ok.
I just wonder could I go for hot yoga, or you think the temperature will be bad for it?
Or even maybe you know how can I heal myslef? What could I do to change it?
Thank you,
AgataI’ve never heard of “soft kneecap” before, and Google wasn’t any help. Are you referring to “soft cartilege” under the kneecap? Like chondromalacia patella?
Hi Agata
Connie is highlighting to me that we really don’t know exactly what you mean by soft kneecaps. Are you saying the patella literally SOFTENS with exercise? I definitely need more information to even contemplate this one! 😉
If you were diagnosed 3 years ago what exactly was the diagnosis? I have never heard this problem before but knowing the nature of it may give us all some ideas.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Gabrielle,
This isas Connie said chondromalacia patella. I call it soft kneecap, as when I touch it its like a small pillow, that you can press. Its not bad at this moment. Its getting worse each time I do aerobics, step, roll skates or even cycling. So I dont do anything like that. The knee then go back to normal, but even 1 aerobic class will bring back the softness and sore.
I thought hot yoga will be good, as there is no high impact, but then again not sure is the hot will not be bad for my knee, as when I have soft knee, I put ice and it temporarily helps.
I really want to go back to full health if you know anything? And also if yoga will help…I would love to do it
Thank you for help,
AgataHi Agata
What treatment have you had? What things do you do to manage the issue? Since it seems to be caused by function and geometry of bones and joints and force distribution, what did your physical therapist or doctor recommend for you to do?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Gabrielle,
My doctor gave me medicines for it, I took it for six months, they did not helped, and that was 3 or 4 years ago. I didn’t do anything else, from what I know I need to rest, I cant do any impact exercises, but I should do stretching and isometric exercises to work on quads and hamstrings and stretch the side of tight, there is some band, that could be too tight. Also I can get suplements of glucosamine & chondritin. It takes even few months to heal, which I don’t mind if I will be healthy.
I just wonder if hot yoga would help in that there is stretching and strengthening and its good for joints…
Thank you for your help Gabrielle,
Agata
Chondromalacia patella is a pretty vague diagnosis – it basically just means the cartilage under your kneecap is irritated/painful due to any number of things. Often it’s because of an alignment issue – if your kneecap isn’t tracking properly, that will cause irritation and more swelling. I’m sure that the “softness” is just swelling that you are feeling. It’s not really possible that your bone itself is becoming soft due to activity, but it feels squishy because of the swelling from irritation. (Or at least that would be a whole different thing that I’ve never heard of if it was somehow a soft bone!).
And your “tight band” is probably your IT band. This is often related to patellar pain, as when your IT bands are tight, they want to pull your patella off to the outside of the knee and exascerbate any tracking issues, causing more pain – which in my experience can be excruciating at it’s worst. However, you can tell if it’s just due to the IT band by doing some IT band stretches – google pigeon pose for a good one. If you do the pose and get some immediate pain relief – you know that’s what’s causing the pain. Unfortunately, that won’t solve it permanently, and you will need to do a lot of foam rolling of the IT band and IT band specific stretches to help with that and it takes a while to get more permanent relief.
If you can’t even ride a bike without your knees bothering you, I would think you need some physical therapy to help identify the problem more specifically and come up with a treatment plan. I guess I have a hard time figuring out what you can do to strengthen it if you can’t even move it in a non-impact way without causing problems. I would go back to your doctor and ask for a physical therapy referral.
You could always try yoga and see how it feels, though. Just use common sense and listen to your body.
Hi Connie,
Thank you for reply. You are right, I think I need to go to get professional treatment.
I tried the pigeon pose which is rather impossible for me to do…so that could be it! I will work on that.
Regarding the softness…you could be right that this is swelling, but I did had arthroscopy 4 years ago, which was only a diagnosis, and I could see the patella was soft, the doctor showed me how he touched and the patella changed its shaped, was like a jelly. He said this is 1 degree, next ones are when is start breaking and then falling apart…
And I actually can do isometric exercises like moving the leg up and down, just high-impact its not good. That is why I thought yoga would be ok.
Thank you very much for all information and help. I definitely will find some physical therapist near me and get a proper plan.
Thank you again and I will come back if I will heal it to share with other people.
Be well,
AgataHi Connie and Agata
This is fascinating. So if your patella is literally soft then that seems to be a very unusual problem (and would indicate to me the urgent need for professional advice). Just with quick research on the net (and thanks to you Connie) you can find that there are ways to manage and improve CMP. So that’s an easy place to start.
The complication of the softening is something you really need expert advice on which I am sure you realise that we cannot do here. As Connie implies that it’s possible that at least some of the softening is a perception of what happens when you do the kind of activity that triggers the problem. What [em]seems [/em]impossible to me (and is piquing my curiosity) is how you can have a hard patella before exercise and then find that it’s soft(er) afterward.
It would be worth really noting for your specialist what degree of change happens in what particular period of time. How much of it is perception because of the soft tissue swelling supporting the patella and how much of it is actually bony softening?
Please keep us posted, if you’re willing. 😉
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Gabrielle,
Ok, now I was confused, so I checked and it is not the patella that is soft, but cartilage underneeth:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001488/
Chondromalacia patella is the softening and breakdown of the tissue (cartilage) that lines the underside of the kneecap (patella).And also wanted to say, that I dont know at this moment in what state is the knee. I only can say that I noticed, that when I dont exercise, I can touch my knee and its hard, but when I go and do aerobics class, next day I can feel its soft, which is probably teh swelling. If I would continue to exercise it would get worse and worse. It is probably when I exercise the knee is being damaged, and next day I feel swelling.
But from my operation I saw something white, like a white jelly, and when my doc poke it it changed its shape…he said its patella, but at this moment Im all confused, as per definition I found above.
I will keep you posted, as going to physio.
Thank you again for your input!
Agata
Hi Agata
I think it’s great that you are doing your research. A friend of mine who is a medical researcher (who actually exposes the gaping holes in modern medicine) highly recommends “becoming an expert in your condition”. Don’t rely SOLELY on your doctor’s knowledge. As he says “doctors can be sincere, but they can be sincerely wrong”. This is NOT – repeat NOT – a criticism of doctors but simply pointing out that knowledge can be very one sided, based on education that cannot take into account all angles of treatment, that we must take responsibility and learn to make the right decisions for ourselves… based on what we know and what we believe.
What’s relevant here is that you are shopping around. It seems quite likely for you that with the right exercises, loading of muscles and joints in your body with the right alignment and good mindful awareness that you could experience an improvement. Look around some more, ask more questions of people who have experience with it and see what resonates with you.
And I still invite you and would be grateful to hear what works for you.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Gabrielle and Connie,
I would like to give you update of my knee and yoga.
So I went to physio and Im doing few stretches and exercises that I will write down for other people. Its helping and its much better, yet it takes time, so I still cant do aerobics and so on.
But good news, I can do yoga. I was doing 2 twice a week hot yoga and it was fine. Except I did excluded an exercise, that I find was not good for my knee : Stand Head to Knee:https://www.hotyogadoctor.com/index.php/yoga-poses/comments-poses/dandayamana-janushirasana-standing-head-to-knee
So here is a list of exercises:
with extra touch: the toes curl up, and the feet in more on the outside edge. This way you can really feel the top part of calf. Do it 2x30sec or better 2x 60sec
2. Stretching gluts
In laying position, bent knee, and bring it to the chest. Hold with one hand knee, and the other hand is holding feet. Bring knee more to inside and you should really feel gluts! Hold it for 60sec
3. Stretching IT-band
By the foam roller. I got this one and works really good:
http://physiosupplies.ie/acatalog/Blue_Foam_Roller_15cm_x_45cm.htmlYou can find also exercises without, but they are not at all close to effect form foam.
On the foam you actually feel pain. This means its working. I could not believe how much it hurt. But fortunately, that was one first time. Next was much easier.
I usually do it 30 rolls.Here is how to use it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9aJtO0VCqw4. Strengthen gluts
I have 3 exercises here:
– lying on side, one leg bend (the one touching floor), and the other straight, moved slightly to back, move leg up and down. Remember to feel gluts, contract stomach muscles. DO it until you feel pain 🙂
– The same, lying on side, both legs bent in knees. Feet are touching, move one leg up and down, but keep feet together – wow that hurts 🙂
– Lying on back, bent knees, and move your body up, head stays at floor, hold, and down..until pain again:)Do all exercises every single day!
5. Not doing anything what could bring pain back
For me that was:
– all form of aerobics,
– squats
– bikes
– keeping leg at full extend, so all exercises with straightening quads were gone from my list, as this always trigger pain.At this moment I have a break in yoga, but will continue from next month. So all is good, but it take time to do it.
Just the last thing is that when I sit down, with my leg straight and relax I can now move my knee cap slightly to left and right. This is how you can see its improving, as before I could not move it at all.
If anybody has any questions Im happy to answer. But I do advise do to go professional, this is just my experience.
Hope that helps and I will keep posted in next month and see how is improvement.
Have great weekend,
Agata -
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